TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC (short sketch)

By Nathan Warner

The memory of war begins to fade in the face of beauty and mystery

Several years after the Dominion War, the U.S.S. Yeager, a refitted Saber class, continues its studies of a unique solar system.

In orbit of the abandoned planet of Ubique 4 and its astonishing ruins, the ship is bathed by morning aurora tides of shimmering beauty. In the distance is an ancient, long abandoned artificial moon that will take decades of study to unlock its secrets and the secrets of the culture that built it.

"This is more like it!" Captain Montgomery smiled. The memory of the Dominion War was fading and a new golden age of exploration was kindling from the darkness.